Lord of Light
by gythia
Summary: SG1 encounters an ancient Goa'uld: Lucifer!
1. Chapter 1

Lord of Light

Part One

The four stepped through the Stargate. Jack said, "Another day, another alphabet soup planet. But look, this one has not only trees, but shrubbery and flowers too! Isn't that special?"

"Bored already, sir?" asked Sam. "The MALP said this world was uninhabited, but somebody made that path."

Daniel wandered over to a marker stone off to the side of an overgrown but still visible stone paved garden path.

"Well, at least Daniel's found something he likes," Jack said. But then Jack saw Daniel's expression. "Or not. What've you got, Daniel?"

"You're not going to like it," Daniel said, for once not touching the alien writing.

"I already don't like it, what does it say?"

"Oh, you know... I'm your god, don't follow any of the others, your standard Goa'uld sort of stuff."

"And?"

Daniel pointed to four letters. "The name of the god that claims this planet. And this over here is the name of this place."

"Daniel, I usually don't have to drag explanations out of you. What is it?"

"Nothing relevant. I think we should leave now. There's clearly nothing here that will help us in the fight against the Goa'uld." Daniel turned toward the DHD, only to be stopped by Jack's hand on his arm.

"OK, Daniel, spill it."

"This is Eden."

"Nice. Pretty place. We'll stay away from the local fruit and watch out for snakes in the grass."

"No, I mean this is really Eden. Think about it, Jack. The center of Goa'uld power on Earth was Egypt. But they had power bases as far away as Peru and China. They probably conquered all of the Middle East before branching out."

Jack was obstinately refusing to draw his own conclusions, as usual. But Sam said, "Oh God."

"Yeah," agreed Daniel. "Precisely." Daniel pointed again to the four letters. "YHWH."

"What is wrong, Daniel Jackson?"

"This one's our god, Teal'c."

"I sympathize, Daniel Jackson."

There was a long pause. "OK," said Jack. "Huddle time's over. Let's move out. See what's on the other end of that trail."

"Jack, I really think we should let sleeping Goa'ulds lie for once," said Daniel. "Do you think you could handle meeting this guy, if he's still around?"

"I've got no problem. A snake is a snake as far as I'm concerned. You?"

"I think it was harder for me to find out about Ra."

"Carter?"

"I can handle it, sir."

Jack paused for a moment, as if assessing whether she really could handle this or was just putting up a brave front. Then he looked at the path. "OK then. Let's go."

Jack led them down the garden path. Soon they came to a clearing with a temple. The front was open to the air, and the door into the structure was open.

"Standard Goa'uld architecture," commented Daniel.

They went inside. It was a throne room, but there were no Jaffa or Goa'ulds. It was empty. Daniel took out his little video camera and started recording, sweeping the room and then moving in closer to capture the Goa'uld writing on the walls. Jack and Sam stood around nervously, and Teal'c took up a guard position at the door, looking every inch a Jaffa.

"I found another Gate address," said Daniel. "It says it goes to Hot Place. I guess that means Hell, but that name is already taken." Daniel paused. Then his natural enthusiasm for archeological discoveries finally kicked in. "It says here that Yehuvehe-that's probably how it would be pronounced in this dialect-was betrayed by his son, the Lord of Light, and his First Prime, Adam. Teal'c, I guess you're not unique in history after all." Daniel glanced at Teal'c.

Teal'c said, "It is more likely that the Lord of Light was trying to take over his father's holdings, not trying to undo the System of the System Lords."

Daniel continued, "The Lord of Light led a rebellion against Yehuvehe. Yehuvehe defeated the first rebellion and banished his son's followers to Hot Place, but the Lord of Light escaped into the garden. There he corrupted the First Prime's wife, Eve, when she ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Then she convinced Adam to rebel. He put off his Jaffa armor and covered himself with leaves. Camouflaged, he attacked Yehuvehe but lost. The Lord of Light abandoned Eve and she threw him through to gate to the rest of his people in Hot Place, but Adam and Eve were caught before they could go through the gate themselves. Yehuvehe did not want the Lord of Light to have a trained warrior like Adam with him, so Yehuvehe sent the First Prime and his wife to Earth.

Jack shook his head. "You were right, Daniel, this is going to take some getting used to."

A grinding sound from behind the throne made Daniel and Jack turn around. Sam was standing on the dais, behind the ornate golden throne, and a door was opening. "I found something, guys," she said. They followed her into the next room. There beneath the time-rotted hangings was a gold sarcophagus. "I think it's operating." She moved closer, and placed a hand on its side. "There's somebody in here. Goa'uld."

"Three guess who," said Daniel. "So what do we do, Jack?"

Jack did not reply, only stared at the sarcophagus.

Teal'c said, "The Goa'uld will be vulnerable when he first awakens. If we all shoot at once, we can kill him easily."

Jack paused a moment longer. "Yeah. Yeah, good, right. Kill the snake. A snake is a snake." He took a deep breath. "Use zats. Nobody comes back from disintegration."

Jack, Sam, and Teal'c got ready and Daniel opened the sarcophagus, then stepped back quickly and brought up his zat gun. The Goa'uld inside sat up, blinking. He did not look like God-no long white beard-he was just another Goa'uld in a pretty-boy host. Jack ordered, "Fire!" and they disintegrated the Goa'uld.

The four were silent for a long time. Finally, Daniel said, "God is dead."

When they got back to the SGC, after the routine medical screening they gathering around the table for their debriefing with General Hammond.

Daniel said, "Before we begin, I'd like to say that until now I always thought the level of secrecy around here was a little over the top. So many people already believe in aliens. People want to believe in aliens, even if some of them are hostile. But there is no classification deep enough to bury this in. If what we just found gets out, the Goa'ulds won't need to destroy the Earth, we'll do it for them."

"Well, I don't know about that, Daniel," Jack said. "We've been going around telling everyone we meet that they're worshipping false gods. Turnabout's fair play."

"Come on, Jack, you've been to the Middle East. Maybe you weren't born there, like I was, but I'm sure you can imagine what would happen if the world found out the United States thinks God is an evil parasitic alien bent on galactic domination. And that we claim to have killed him. Hello, can you say jihad?"

Jack started to argue, but the General held up a hand. "Are we talking about THE God?"

"Yes, sir," said Jack. Then he started in on the debriefing.

At the end, General Hammond said, "Well, I agree with Dr. Jackson. I'm going to invent a whole new classification to put this in, and then classify the classification. Now, as much as I'd like to let you loose on translating the videos you brought back of the walls, and exploring that new gate address, we're going to have to put that off for a few days. The Tok'ra have requested your presence at their negotiations with some potential new allies. You won't be expected to mediate, just be there, as a reassuring presence. The Tok'ra think that showing that they can interact with unblended beings as equals will clinch the deal for them."

"As equals?" asked Jack. "Since when do the Tok'ra treat us as equals?"

"You're not getting out of this one, Colonel. Besides, General Carter will be there." Hammond smiled at Sam Carter. She smiled back.

The negotiations proved uneventful, except that Daniel managed to get himself into trouble again. One cantankerous old Tok'ra woman named Kiriol (at least the host was old, the symbiont was only on her first body) decided Daniel was "a very cute boy", which she announced loudly to anyone who walked by, and she pursued him all over the Tok'ra base. The second morning, Jack had to hunt Daniel down in his hiding spot in a store room to bring him back to the conference chambers. Daniel said, "Do I have to come out? I think the old crone wants my body. I least I hope it's the old crone. It would be even worse if it's the symbiont that wants my body."

The third morning, he couldn't find Daniel at all, and then it suddenly wasn't funny anymore. A search party was organized. Daniel definitely was not at the base. "Oh, for crying out loud," Jack muttered, "what is it with you people?" The negotiations ground to a halt as suspicions flew about what happened to Daniel, when they discovered that Kiriol was missing, too.

Daniel was relaxing in some natural hot springs. He reflected that if Jack were here, he would be complaining that there were too many trees. "So what is this place?" Daniel asked.

Kiriol answered from her seat on a mossy rock. "This is the Place of the Queens. It's really frustrating for me to have to have this as my first host. I'm younger than she is, even if you count the years I spent as a larva. I grew up right there." She pointed to the mineral-scented water. Daniel started to get out, but she laughed and held up a hand. "Don't worry, I was the last one. There's nobody in there right now. Except you, of course."

"Not that I don't appreciate the hot bath, but why did you bring me here? And why were you chasing me all day yesterday? I thought I knew what you wanted, but I'm in here and you're out there and now I'm kind of stumped."

Kiriol laughed again. "No, you did know what I wanted, after a fashion. I want you to seed the pool. You're handsome, you're a genius, and even better, you have a quality that we often lack: compassion."

"Uh..." said Daniel intelligently.

"I'm a Queen, Daniel. Sure, I could choose another Tok'ra, but none of them have the quality I'm looking for. I have to think about the future. Someday we might win this war. And what kind of people will we be by then? Besides not pretending to be gods, that is. I want us to be people like you."

"I'm flattered. I think. Although that has got to be the most unromantic pick up line I've ever heard."

Kiriol shrugged. "What's the point of trying to be romantic in this host? The Tok'ra do have mirrors, you know."

"So... if you're proposing what I think you're proposing... why are you sitting forty feet away from me?"

"I'm in a fertility cycle. I can't help but put out pheromones. The Tok'ra don't take unwilling hosts, and we don't take unwilling donors either."

"Pheromones."

"Ta'u hanu."

Daniel shuddered. He remembered that pink perfume. He also remembered his own larval children being burned alive. And everything that came in between. "I'm sorry, Kiriol. Things are just-not right. I just..." Daniel trailed off. He wasn't about to discuss Hathor with this Queen. "Um. I don't want to. I'm sorry."

"You wouldn't have to be present for the egg laying part. All you have to do is seed the pool, you can go back to the base, and I'll follow when I'm done."

Daniel shook his head. "No. Sorry."

Kiriol sighed. "Maybe you'll change your mind someday. At least I got a chance to talk to you. Let's go back. There are towels in that shed over there. Oh, and please don't reveal this gate address, not even to the other Tok'ra. It's a secret of Queens and their consorts. Will you do that much?"

"Sure."

"No hard feelings?"

"No. No, not at all. When you dragged me through the gate you had me scared for a moment, but if this was the worst thing that had ever happened to me I'd be walking on air."

Kiriol nodded. "Same here."

When Daniel and Kiriol reappeared at the Tok'ra base, they were mobbed. Angry Tok'ras picked Kiriol up bodily and carried her away. Daniel was rushed to a private room, where his teammates and a Tok'ra doctor fussed over him.

"I'm fine, really. All that happened was I went for a soak in a hot spring and we talked, that's it. Really, you don't have to go poking at me like that, I'm fine. Hey, I think I'd know it if I was injured, OK? Leave that alone. Ow."

"A hot spring?" asked the Tok'ra doctor, her face suddenly gone hard. "With a white shed nearby?"

"Um, yeah, is there something wrong with that?"

The Tok'ra cursed and hurried out. Daniel fended off the concerned questions of his teammates. The truth was, Daniel was a little shaken up, but only because he had been reminded of Hathor.

Finally Jack and Teal'c left, but Sam lingered a moment. Her voice was soft. "Daniel, when you came back through the gate you looked like you'd seen a ghost. What happened, really?"

"Nothing, Sam. We talked. That's it. It was a serious talk. I'm just thinking. That's all."

"OK, Daniel. But you didn't look this bad when we killed God."

"I'm fine. Let's go get lunch."

Later that day, Daniel went up to the surface to get some air. There he saw a beautiful young woman. The breeze stirred her white-gold hair, and she was pouting like a model in a fashion magazine. Daniel went up to her and said hello.

She looked down at him. She was a very tall woman. Daniel saw that she had been crying. "I offered myself to the Tok'ra in good faith," she said. "They said they rescued me from life as a slave, but I was never treated badly on my home world. I lived in luxury. It was my destiny to be host to a Queen. And the Tok'ra had one, and said I could fulfill my destiny, but as a free person, as a partner. I was overjoyed. And now-now that I've been blended-they told me that being in me is a punishment! Because I'm vacuous, they said. They told me I don't have any personality, that I have no interests or experience of my own, that I bring nothing to the joining and am too weak-minded to hold up my half of the partnership. They told me this in front of everyone! Well, not you, you and the other Tau'ri weren't there. I guess your friends were deciding whether you were OK. The doctor said you appeared undamaged but that you'd been taken to the Place of the Queens, and that this was her punishment. They told this in front of the new allies, and said this was so they would see how seriously they take their commitment to their allies." The beauty brushed away tears. "I ran out of the room. Someone followed me, tried to tell me no one really meant it, that it was just for show, for the new allies, but it's all true. I really do have no interests or experiences of my own, my whole life was devoted to preparing to be a host for Ma'at, and then they killed her."

"What's your name?" Daniel asked. "Your own name, I mean, I know you're Kiriol's new host."

"Essa."

"Well, Essa, that was a really cruel thing to do to you, even if they didn't mean it, even if it was just for show. But I know Kiriol has been waiting for a young and beautiful host, and you're exactly what she wanted. You've got to know that, somewhere inside, right?"

"She says so, but I can't really tell yet. At least I don't feel all jumbled up with memories, like so many people have said it's like. Kiriol is too young to have many yet, except for the race memory, and I can't really see much of that. At least not yet."

Essa started crying again, and Daniel instinctively pulled her close. "It'll be alright," he whispered. He could never stand seeing anybody hurt.

"How can I stay here?" Essa asked. "They all think I'm some kind of mind-free non-person. And they hate Kiriol. Neither one of us wants to be the one on the surface when they're around." As she spoke, the pink mist escaped her lips. The ta'u hanu floated onto Daniel as she stood in his embrace. Daniel's eyes glazed over. He had to make things right for his Queen.

"How about a little vacation? Tok'ras take vacations, don't they?"

"And go where?"

"Earth. With me. Essa, you don't deserve this. And neither does Kiriol, God, she didn't do anything. That'll show them, huh?" He pulled back enough to smile at her, and she giggled through her tears.

She nodded. "Yeah, that'll show them."

It didn't take much persuading for Daniel to arrange for Essa to come back with SG-1 to Cheyenne Mountain. The Tok'ras did not argue very hard to keep Essa on their base, since she appeared to have a death grip on Daniel's waste and wouldn't say anything to anyone but the Tau'ri. The Tok'ras did make it clear she was not to stay more than a week, though.

Daniel took Essa home with him that night, and the next morning there was more than fish swimming in his aquarium. The two of them went back to the base, and Essa found some translations to work on in Daniel's office while SG-1 geared up for the mission to Hot Place. The MALP showed them a peaceful desert world. It was inhabited, but no one had any weapons, and there were no recognizable Goa'uld styles of dress or armor.

They gated to this peaceful looking Hell and approached the first person they saw. Daniel stepped forward. "Hello, my name is Daniel Jackson. These are Jack O'Neil, Sam Carter, and Teal'c. We are peaceful explorers."

The native cocked his head and looked at the four of them oddly. "That is a Jaffa."

"He's a friend. He means you no harm."

"Did Yehuvehe kick you out, too?"

"Um, no, he's uh, dead. We sort of um. We killed him."

The native grinned. "Truly? I must tell the others!" Then he laughed. "But I'm forgetting my manners, my name is Shai."

"Pleased to meet you, Shai. Will you take us to your leader?"

"Leader?"

"Elders, village council?"

Shai scratched his head.

"The one who decides what to do when there's a problem that needs to be solved."

"Ah, the First Rebel! Of course you seek the First Rebel, what could I be thinking, you have killed that old warlock Yehuvehe, of course you seek him. This way." Shai walked off at a brisk pace. SG-1 followed him to a temple. It looked much like the other one: another deserted Goa'uld temple and throne room.

"The First Rebel," Shai said, gesturing to the empty throne. "Enjoy." Before Daniel or anyone else could ask him any more questions, he sped off, laughing.

"Great," said Jack. "Looks like the king isn't home, folks."

Daniel climbed onto the platform on which the throne rested. "Well, there's one thing here," he said, picking up a heavy golden crown. It came down in the back and along the sides like a helmet, and appeared to be one piece of solid gold, except it was not as heavy as it ought to be. "I think it's hollow," Daniel said. "Jack, I'd like to take this back with us and study it."

"Sure," Jack said. "Carter, any other rooms in here? Sarcophagi?"

"None, sir."

"This is interesting," said Daniel. "The writing along the rim of the crown says Eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, know and be known by the wisdom of the ages, and pledge your self to battle for mens' souls against the Goa'uld."

"Sweet," said Jack. "Maybe you were right, and this guy was some kind of early Tok'ra. Looks like he's gone now, though. That must be what Shai thought was so funny."

Daniel stuffed the crown in his bag and brought it home. They would try to contact the inhabitants again once he had studied the artifact and translated his recordings of the writings in the temple. Daniel was excited about his finds, but he also wanted to get back to the Mountain. He didn't want to leave Essa alone on a strange planet too long. When he got back, he realized he need not have worried about her. The first thing she asked him was, "Daniel, what's a supermodel?"

With that worry taken care of, Daniel waited impatiently through the post mission medical exam and the debriefing. He wanted to get another look at that crown. He got Essa to go help Sam with some technological thing, and finally he was alone in his office with the gold crown. He transcribed the writing into his notes. "Know and be known by?" he asked aloud. "That's an odd phrase." He took pictures, and described the artifact for his report. Then, yielding to an impulse, he put it on.

A sharp pain at the back of his neck, and the world went away. He saw the Great Pyramids being built, heard the chatter of the workmen, smelled the camel sweat and felt the sting of sand in the hot wind off the desert. Then more images came, images of Earth and of other worlds, and then there were images of his own life, mixed in with the other experiences. He reeled and braced himself against the desk. The crown fell off his head, knocked over his coffee cup, and landed in a coffee puddle on the floor. A small trickle of blood ran down his neck.

The images ceased, and there was an expectant silence. "Hello?" Daniel asked.

An answer came from the back of his head:

Hello.

"You're the First Rebel," Daniel said. "The Lord of Light."

Yes. You may call me Lucifer.

End of Part One


	2. Chapter 2

Lord of Light Part Two

Daniel was fascinated. He could have kicked himself for not having the crown x-rayed before putting it on, but the history he could access was just incredible. It was like having the great library at Heliopolis in his head. Better. Because this history came with tactile sensation. There was no guesswork, he KNEW this history, ten thousand years deep. Abruptly he laughed. "Know and be known by," he repeated the writing on the crown.

Yes. It's a code, you see. For my people to know what it means, and outsiders to see the crown as a harmless object. So that they would not destroy it, and me. It was a great hiding place when the Jaffa came. I never imagined accidentally catching a historian. I'm sorry, by the way. All the wearers of the crown were meant to know what was going to happen when they put it on. My mate taught me that it was wrong to take an unwilling host.

"You're a Tok'ra?"

I became one, when I met Pangyra. My own rebellion was already thousands of years old, by then. I am the First Rebel. It's not just an empty title. Pangyra envisioned changing our species, but I never considered that until I met her. I focused on the humans. Convincing them to turn away from God. I was in a battle for their souls, and I mostly worked from the inside. Like this.

"What about Eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil? What's that code for?"

Well, as you know, this crown arrangement does it differently, but Pangyra's children always enter through the mouth.

"Oh. And your people know what it means, and they would know what putting on the crown would do to them."

Yes. Exactly. I never imagined a scenario like this one. I've been looted.

Daniel snorted. "Don't complain, or I'll have my head examined."

Not complaining. Just surprised. So, let's get to know each other. A nice dream or two would be good. I can teach you some new languages.

"What do you want?" Daniel asked.

Seeing as how no one has felt any need to put on the crown and do anything in several hundred years, right now all I really want is to not be bored. Let's exchange knowledge, and then tomorrow I would really like to experience some interesting physical sensations. That is, if you and Essa are still an item.

Daniel blushed. Then he went cold. "Essa. Kiriol. Ta'u hanu. How could I have been so stupid? She even warned me first. And then tricked me!"

Did she really? From what I see in your memory, Essa was genuinely upset when you found her.

"Yes. OK, yes, I can't blame her, because she did warn me not to come too close. Damn. It is my fault, but it's time for her to leave. And her little friends too."

Good, that's settled. So no Essa, eh? Oh well. Food would be nice too. And could we get out of this mountain and look at the sky of Earth? I haven't seen it in five thousand years.

"You seem just a little too nice, considering your reputation."

I believe you have a phrase, history is written by the victors. How do you suppose my dear old love Pangyra is described in the stories told by the System Lords? Or your Teal'c, for that matter?

"I see your point. Forgive me if I don't trust you yet, Lucifer."

Feel as you will. Do as you will. I'm just along for the ride. Are you going to reveal my presence?

Daniel answered slowly. "No. Not yet. I never thought I'd ever feel this way, but I don't want you to leave yet. There's so much I can learn from you. I've glimpsed things in your memories that are, well, every archeologist's dream." Suddenly Daniel laughed out loud, and gasped out, "The ark of the covenant! Why did it have to be snakes!" The sensation of puzzlement from the back of his mind brought him back from his laughing fit. Silently he explained the Tau'ri entertainment form known as movie. The last time he had watched it had been with Teal'c. He was going to have to avoid Teal'c, and Sam too, if he meant to keep Lucifer a secret. Although, at Lucifer's urging, when he sent Essa home to the Tok'ra with her larvae, he kept one for Teal'c. He just didn't know how he was going to explain it to him yet.

Daniel and Lucifer dreamed together that night, and when Daniel woke up, Lucifer had an idea.

I see in your dreams that you would really like to get rid of a certain problem person. An enemy of the Stargate program, and therefore an enemy of the Tau'ri and all free peoples everywhere. One Maybourne.

"Yeah, I would, but like it or not he's in the same Air Force as Jack and General Hammond and everybody. I can't really do anything about him."

But would you, if you had a chance? Especially if you could arrange to have his own friends at NID take care of him for you?

"Sure. Is this the part where you offer me an apple?"

He felt Lucifer laughing inside him. It was an odd sensation, a strange sort of almost sound. I am the great tempter, but your soul is already against the Goa'ulds. Nothing I could say could make you any more their enemy. And you helped kill Yehuvehe! You are more the Lord of Light than I.

"Wow. A humble symbiont. I think maybe I like you."

Besides, you know as well as I that there were no apples in Eden. Why don't you tell me how that word got inserted into the story?

"Oh, well when the Catholic Church was trying to convert the heathens in northern Europe, they changed a lot of things to co-opt old holidays and turn some old pagan gods into saints and others into demons. There was a Norse goddess named Idun, which sounds a lot like Eden, and the apples of Idun were a symbol for the way the Norse gods regenerated and stayed immortal. So when the Church was converting the heathens they started saying the apples of Eden were the vehicle of original sin. They turned a good thing into a bad thing in the minds of the people."

Interesting. Strange things happened on Earth after the Stargate closed.

"Yes, it's ironic, isn't it? Idun is one of the gods of Asgard. One of those who tried to protect humans against the Goa'uld."

So... wouldn't you love to see poetic justice enacted on Maybourne?

Lucifer kept after this idea, whispering to Daniel at random times throughout the day. Daniel indulged himself and his symbiont with pizza and beer, and with a trip outside to look at the stars. Daniel also got his translation work done in record time, despite being distracted with occasional visions of ancient times. Finally, Daniel asked, "Why do you want this so much? Why Maybourne?"

Because YOU want it so much. Give in to your desires, Daniel. You are a good man. You desire good. And good will come of it. Protect the Earth from the dangers of men like Maybourne. And it will feel good, I promise you. Because you are right.

Periodically, Daniel's teammates stopped by, but they understood his distraction and his focus on his work. They got him to break for meals, then let him retreat to his office and his artifacts. The next day Daniel woke up agreeing with the voice. His first step was to plant some false information where Maybourne would find it. He baited the hook and waited for Maybourne to bite. Daniel wrote his report on the crown, leaving out its most salient feature. His work done, he turned his attention to the plot against Maybourne. Daniel went to see Teal'c. For once, his friend was not meditating when Daniel came in. Teal'c was watching the classic Star Trek on a small TV.

"Hey Teal'c. I need a big favor."

"You have only to ask, Daniel Jackson."

"You might want to hear this before you say yes. Well, you probably already know that, uh, that I had an affair with Essa. Who is also Kiriol."

"I had guessed this when I saw that you leave together to go home the first night"

"Yes, well... I want you to carry my son. I want you to trade Junior for another larva, a Tok'ra larva. I named him Kal-El. It seemed appropriate. Will you do this for me?"

For a minute, Teal'c just stared at him. Daniel thought of all their strange history together. He had no idea what was going through Teal'c's mind. Or whether he sensed the symbiont within Daniel. Finally Teal'c said, "I would be honored."

"Thank you. Come home with us tonight. Kal-El is, um, in the fish tank."

Kal-El was very small in comparison to Junior, but he was old enough-barely-to be borne by a Jaffa. Teal'c was strong and uninjured, and the exchange went smoothly. The next morning, Daniel put Junior in a big Ziplock bag of water and carried him into the mountain in a briefcase. Maybourne was already there, demanding access to something that no one knew anything about, because Daniel had made it up. Daniel got an artifact from storage and slipped the golden thing onto his hand, then went stalking. Daniel caught Maybourne alone in the elevator.

"Hello Maybourne. I have a present for you."

"A present? Am I finally going to get some cooperation here?"

"I have something for you that you've been wanting for a long time." Daniel opened the briefcase and reached inside. Maybourne made no effort to protect himself, not expecting an attack from the mild mannered archeologist. Suddenly Daniel pulled out the symbiont, dropped the briefcase, and grabbed Maybourne by the head with the hand that was wrapped in the ribbon device. "His name is Junior!"

Maybourne struggled, and almost slipped out of Daniel's grasp, but Daniel's strength was reinforced by his symbiont. Daniel's eyes glowed in the dimness of the elevator. "Cease resisting, foolish Tau'ri!" came the harsh, alien tones of the voice of the Goa'uld. Lucifer activated the ribbon device, and Maybourne's struggles turned into the ineffectual shaking of one caught in the deadly grasp of the ribbon device. Provided with a bare neck, Junior wormed his way into Maybourne's flesh.

In a moment, Maybourne's eyes glowed too. Daniel let go of him. "I am Lucifer, the Lord of Light. What is your name, child of Apophis?"

"I do not know. My father has not given me a name," was the reply, in the double tones of the symbiont. Uncertainty was in the voice.

"Then I shall name you. You shall be Omega, for my father claimed to be the Alpha and the Omega, and now he is destroyed. You and I shall rule this world together. Go, and eliminate the threat to our power that you find in the mind of your host. Infiltrate the NID at their Area 51 and bring it down. I shall do the same to the SGC at Cheyenne Mountain. And then we shall rule these primitives unopposed by any weapon that can harm us. Go now! But hide your eyes! You will find regulation sunglasses in your host's pocket."

"I will do as you ask, Lucifer. I have heard of you. My race memory tells me you are very old and powerful." Maybourne left the mountain.

On the way back to his office, Daniel held an internal debate with Lucifer. "What the hell was that? I thought you were on our side!"

Have faith, Daniel. Now we will call Area 51 and let them know that Maybourne is a Goa'uld. They will be expecting him. It is a good trap, no?

"What if they don't believe me? He's their man."

If they don't believe at first, they will soon. Junior was not really old enough to take a host. Even a sniveling fool like Maybourne will have moments in which he can take back control. He will damn himself, and his friends will dissect him.

"That's evil!"

They're his friends, Daniel, not yours. He made his own choices. He is getting what he deserves, and you know it. He would dissect you-us-if he could. He wanted Junior all along, and he would have been happy to kill Teal'c to get him, if the General hadn't prevented it. I saw that in your memories.

"I know. And you were right. That moment when I introduced him to Junior, that felt really good." Daniel stopped walking. "Oh God, the security tapes! We've got to get to the video from the elevator. But how do we do that without anyone knowing we did it? We can't just walk in and ribbon everyone. They'll remember it, or else they'll be dead, and I don't want to kill them."

Slow down, Daniel. Of course we can just walk in and stun everyone. Go check a zat gun out of the armory.

"But they'll know I checked one out! It'll be suspicious!"

You already know the answer, Daniel. You don't need me to tell you. You can see the same things in your mind that I can, and you are no one's fool. Just stop panicking and think.

"OK. OK. Target practice, right. I'll go to the range for target practice, and forget to turn in my gun."

There, you see? You need no guidance. Only a little nudge in the right direction now and then. You are strong and brilliant. A worthy Lord of Light.

"Thank you. I thought you were the Lord of Light."

WE are the Lord of Light.

But Daniel never made it to the target range. Colonel O'Neil and a pair of Marines intercepted him. "Daniel, General Hammond wants to see you."

Daniel eyed the Marines. "I'm just about finished with that artifact we-"

"Don't play games. What has gotten into you?"

Daniel felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. "What do you mean?" he asked carefully. If Jack suspected Lucifer's presence...

"Come on, Daniel. Hammond's office."

"OK. Sure. You didn't need to bring them with you. It's me, right?"

Daniel found the General waiting for him and the Colonel in the briefing room. The Marines stayed outside. Daniel slid into a chair, feeling like a sitting duck. Jack stayed standing behind him, which was just odd enough to add to the fear.

Hammond leaned his bulk toward Daniel across the table. "What the hell did you think you were doing, son?"

"Um, just checking. What are we talking about?" Daniel could hear the high pitched fear in his own voice. He knew he was breathing too hard, and his eyes were too wide.

Silently, he said to Lucifer, "A little help here? I look guilty."

An odd sensation, as if patted on the back by a phantom hand, preceding a slowing of his heart rate and breathing. Daniel felt his body relax. Handy, this symbiosis thing, he thought.

Hammond said, "You know damn well what I'm talking about. A security guard called me when he reviewed the tapes of the last hour. I can only wish we'd caught up with Maybourne before he left the mountain."

"But that would ruin it!" Daniel burst out. "Now we're rid of him forever. He was an enemy, General, surely you see that. An enemy of SGC, and of all the Tau'ri, and of all free peoples everywhere. He had to be stopped. Now his own friends will dissect him." Daniel winced when he realized he'd used some of Lucifer's phrasing.

Jack caught it too. He sat on the table next to Daniel. "Of the Tau'ri? Since when do we call ourselves Tau'ri when nobody else is around?"

"Uh, I guess I've been hanging out with Teal'c too long." Daniel felt the panic rising again, and started babbling. "That's what makes me good at languages, you know, I pick things up unconsciously. One time I went to Memphis and there was this girl and..."

"Jackson!" Barked General Hammond.

Daniel turned back toward him, wide blue eyes full of fear.

"Where did you get the Goa'uld?"

"Which one?"

"What do you mean, which one? The one you put in Maybourne!"

"Oh." Daniel sighed in relief. "It's Junior."

"What?!" Jack shouted, jumping up from the table.

"No, it's OK!" Daniel yelled, putting up his hands, then remembering what was on one of them and putting his hands down quickly, hoping no one noticed. "Teal'c's fine. There's a Tok'ra larva in him now."

Jack sat down heavily in the chair next to Daniel. "How did you get one of those here? We checked everything that came back from the Tok'ra base."

"Um, well, we made it, of course." Daniel stared at his hands.

"We who?" asked Jack.

"Me and Essa. And Kiriol."

"Did she put you up to this?"

"No! No, of course not, how would she know about Maybourne?"

"Maybe you told her," said Jack. "Maybe you told all the damn Tok'ra, and they sent their operative here to take him out. That would be just like them. Arrogance and deception at their best."

Daniel was about to protest again, but then Lucifer spoke inside him Agree, Daniel, that's perfect. The alliance is too important to them. And she's already gone anyway, they can't hurt her.

"OK," said Daniel. He was looking at his hands again. "You're right."

"Damn," said Hammond. "But that doesn't let you off the hook. Look, Jackson, you're the best at what you do, and I will put up with a lot of unmilitary conduct from you, but I can't overlook this. You let loose a Goa'uld onto our planet."

"Not for long, sir. Maybourne's friends will catch on to him, and then he's a dead man. I did this for the program, sir. For the cause. He was a threat to us."

Hammond sighed. "When did you get to be so ruthless?"

"Um, hanging around a Black Ops operative for years?"

Jack exclaimed, "Hey, don't try to blame me for this."

"Let it go, General. Nobody needs to know. Just erase the tapes. No more Maybourne. And we can get back to the fight against the Goa'uld. With one less dagger at our backs."

"I can't do that, Dr. Jackson. You've become a loose cannon. I'm sorry, son, you're going to have to stand trial."

"You'd never show a security tape with a Goa'uld on it to a jury."

"You think there aren't secret trials here?"

"If you won't let me continue my work, then at least let me go where I can continue the fight in my own way. Let me go to Essa, to the Tok'ra. I'll start over out there. I'm an expert at starting over." Daniel thought back to all the times he had had to leave a family behind as a child, when the social workers moved him. A new set of parents, brothers and sisters, new school, new dog, and sometimes new friends, but he didn't always stay in one place long enough to make any friends. Suddenly he was back in his childhood, experiencing a moving day as if it was really happening in the present. The black plastic garbage sack in which he toted his possessions was not big enough for the bicycle his previous set of foster parents had just given him. He had to leave it behind. Daniel swam up out of the memory, realizing that it was so intense because to his symbiont, it was the first time he had experienced it. He was living his own memories through the symbiont's eyes.

Jack said, "Oh for crying out loud, Daniel, don't cry."

Daniel touched his face. Were these his tears of long ago pain, or Lucifer's tears of pity for him? He wiped them away. "Why shouldn't I cry? You know what would happen to me if I went to prison. I mean, look at me. You think the base's women are the only ones around here who hit on me?"

"God, Daniel."

"God is dead, Jack. We killed him."

"How do you know about that kind of thing?"

"You think I'm some naïve child? I wasn't even naïve when I was a child! How long do you think I could stay naïve in the State Home, sharing a room with the skin graft boy whose mother burned his face off with a tea kettle, and across the hall from the three little girls who got penicillin shots every morning because their daddy gave them syphillis? Not to mention the teenage bullies who made their pocket money selling crystal meth. And that was just the first week. And you think I'm naïve?!" The intensity of the memories was breathtaking. He hadn't thought about any of that in years. There was definitely a downside to this symbiosis thing.

Suddenly, he felt Lucifer slipping away. Inside, he asked, "Where are you going?"

I have been awake and active too long. I must rest or die. I am old, Daniel, very old, and without a sarcophagus even we grow old and die.

Daniel panicked again. "You should have told me!" he yelled inside, but Lucifer was already asleep.

Hammond shook his head. "Can't do it, Jackson. I can't cover this up. Maybourne knows, and he might talk before he dies."

"Oh," Daniel said, subdued. Without the internal promptings of Lucifer, suddenly this whole harebrained scheme seemed ridiculous. If this was how Lucifer had managed his rebellion, it was no wonder he had lost. He sighed. "Would you believe, the Devil made me do it?"

Hammond looked even more annoyed than usual. "This is serious, Jackson. It's no time for jokes."

Daniel knew that if Maybourne did talk, he would tell the general about Lucifer himself. But Daniel wasn't ready to give up the old Tok'ra yet. But he had no problem blaming Essa. "Actually, it's Jack's fault," said Daniel.

"Mine! You said the Tok'ra put you up to this."

"You knew what she was and let her come back here!" Daniel accused. His anger was real. He did blame Jack for that.

"You wanted to bring her!"

"I wanted?! What choice do you think I had? You knew what she was!"

Jack looked puzzled. "A young Tok'ra. So what?"

"A Queen! A Queen symbiont! You know what they are, what they do! A Tok'ra version of Hathor, Jack, and you let her have me!"

Jack looked stricken. "God I'm sorry, Danny. I didn't think-the Tok'ra don't- but she does. The Tok'ra suspected her, and they were right. General Hammond, Daniel's right, this is my fault. I should have known."

The General thought for a moment. Daniel could tell he was still suspicious. "If that's so, then why didn't it affect anyone else? And how were you able to get rid of her? You suddenly stopped being interested in her and kicked her out. How? And if you were still affected half an hour ago, why aren't you affected now? And how did you overpower Maybourne if you were drunk on perfume?"

Daniel didn't answer. He felt Lucifer stirring within. Daniel greeted him happily, "Welcome back. Just needed a short catnap, did you?"

"What?" asked Jack. Daniel's smiled drained away when he realized he had said that out loud. "Talking to yourself, Daniel? Think that'll get you out of this? The insanity defense?"

Suddenly Daniel moved as fast as a striking snake. He was out of his chair with his back against the wall. For a moment, Daniel's wide blue eyes stared at Jack in fear, then Daniel's head fell and his eyes closed. Then the head came up, but he did not open his eyes. He spoke in the barest whisper. "Don't frighten him like that. Don't ever threaten him with that torture again. Hasn't he suffered enough?"

Jack looked at Daniel suspiciously. "Uh, Daniel, talking about yourself like you aren't there... not good."

"He's not crazy," came the tiny whisper. Daniel's eyes remained closed. "Don't ever say that. Now he's too scared to come out."

"So who are you, Mr. Hyde?"

"In a way, if I understand your Tau'ri literary reference correctly. Daniel was just trying to protect me. Now it's my turn to protect him. I won't let you send him back to the white room. Left behind, abandoned, cast aside like yesterday's newspaper when he was no longer useful to you. Everything he was, everything he knew, taken away. His thoughts scrambled with drugs until he couldn't string two words together in any language, even his own name. The memories fading with each new shot of drugs, coming back piece by piece, until he can almost speak coherently again, shaking, out of control, then the drugs again, everything slipping, nothing left but the hallucinations, again and again. I am shocked. Shocked. I never even imagined such a torture, and to do it to one of your own for no better reason than you think he's past his time of usefulness! I am not easy to shock, you know. Not after ten thousand years." The eyes opened. They glowed.

Jack took a step back. "Shit!"

Lucifer stopped whispering and spoke in his own, dual-toned voice. "We will be leaving now." He raised the ribbon device. "You did not notice this, did you? This is how we overpowered Maybourne. He was the first on the list. I was going to crush all of Daniel's enemies for him. Maybourne, Kinsey, MacKenzie, everyone who could hurt him. Don't make me add your names to the list. Let us go. Let Daniel go free, you owe him that much."

Hammond said, "That's a strange way of putting it. You let Jackson go free, and we'll let you leave."

"You were going to imprison him, or even torture him again in the white room. You are not his friends. Why should I leave him with you, to be hurt and discarded?"

"We didn't discard him!" exclaimed Jack. "We came to visit him."

"And stood away as if he were covered with poison, while he ached to remember what it felt like to be touched nonviolently. No one ever touched him with compassion in that place. It was always force, chains and drugs. The white room was almost a relief at first, after the initial processing. They violated him, you know. Not the same way Hathor did. At least he had the knowledge that she was an enemy who meant him harm, that she took his Code of Life for her own purposes and enjoyed his suffering. But to be violated by the hands of one who claims to do it For Your Own Good-the phrase foster father number two used to say when he beat him-that is completely different. Checking for drugs and weapons indeed! While they were the ones with the drugs and the weapons, and they used them on him. For Your Own Good is the most dangerous concept you Tauri have invented. I see the history of your world in Daniel's mind. I see the Inquisition, killing people to save their souls. That is what you did to him, except that it wasn't fatal so it could have just gone on forever."

Hammond said, "We did our best to help him recover. And he did recover, and we welcomed him back. We will welcome him back from you too."

While Lucifer was looking at the General, Jack tried to jump him. Lucifer fought back with the ribbon device, and managed to render both the General and Jack unconscious. Daniel felt the symbiont lending him strength and speed. It was exhilarating. Then he opened the door and knocked out the guards.

Daniel burst into the gate control room. "Dial up the last planet we visited. Quick! It's an emergency. We've got to give something back that belongs to them before it's too late!"

Daniel was gratified that the control room personnel did not seem to be aware of his change in status. To them he was the good old Dr. Jackson, who cracked the code and made the Gate work, trustworthy beyond measure. Daniel ran back down and into the gate room as the Stargate came to watery life.

He ran to the village and let Lucifer take over. "I am the Lord of Light! Hear me, my people! Eden is empty, and it is time to reclaim it. All who would live in paradise, follow me now! Leave your material possessions, Eden will provide all that you need."

A week later, SG-1, minus one member, came through the gate to Eden. Jack was surprised to see Shai waiting for him. "The Lord of Light awaits you," Shai said. "I will accompany you to the temple." Shai opened the grand door for the three, then left. Inside, they found Daniel sitting on Yehuvehe's throne. In his lap he cradled the body of a Goa'uld. He petted it absently, as one would a cat.

Daniel looked up. "What, you're not going to kneel to your god? I thought you had the customs down pat by now."

"Daniel? Is it you?" Jack asked.

"It's me, Jack," Daniel sighed. "He's gone. He was old. Very old. And he wouldn't use the sarcophagus. This is him." Daniel lifted the motionless symbiont. "Lucifer. The Lord of Light. I miss him."

"You miss him? After what he made you do?"

"His knowledge spanned the millenia. It was wonderful. I still have some of it, bits and pieces. Incomplete, like a puzzle knocked over. YOU understand, Sam." He looked at Sam Carter, thinking of Jolinar.

"Yes," she said. "I do understand."

"It's time to come home, Daniel," said Jack.

"Can I come home? I mean, I narrowly escaped being sent to prison."

"That's over now. We know you had a Goa'uld in you. What happened wasn't your fault."

"But he was clever, wasn't he? Lucifer, I mean. Everybody believed I would do that to Maybourne. He chose his target carefully. Maybourne is dead, isn't he?" Daniel silently apologized to the place inside him that no longer spoke back.

"Close enough," said Jack. "He disappeared into Area 51, presumed dissected."

Daniel stood up and placed the dead symbiont on the golden throne. "Then let's go home."

The End


End file.
